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We give honour to God when we keep our word. If we do this our lives will speak volumes to the people around us. How much easier it will be if we live and speak with words of truthfulness. There will come a day when we will have to stand before God and give account for our broken promises.
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If we truly want to be like Jesus, then everything we say should be true. If we say yes but we mean no, then it is a lie that we are speaking to ourselves and to others and it is not coming from our heart. If we stick to a definite yes or no, then we will be known to be a trustworthy person, but we must be willing to go the distance and put in the effort. If we swear to something does it make it any truer than if we just said yes or no? It shouldn’t do, so why do we need to do it? If someone continues to make promises and then fails to follow through with them, we soon lose trust in them. If they then broke that promise they thought that they would not be judged by God because it was not made in His name – what a cop out! As written in the Matthew reference, Jesus disapproved of this practice. In the time of Jesus, the Jews would make an oath (swear, promise) on an earthly object such as the altar or the temple rather than on the name of God. He wants us to speak plainly and truthfully. God wants us to be clear with what we say. That way, your language can’t be used against you.” Don’t show your impatience by concocting oaths to hurry up God. Don’t add words like “I swear to God” to your own words. In The Message this verse reads “And since you know that He cares, let your language show it. Help me to respond to the layers of my life with a Yes you have heard before.Chapter 5 verse 12 are the words that Jesus spoke (Matthew 5:34-37) “Let your yes be yes and your no be no”. Mary taught us this when she said, “yes.” As such, prayer is our participation in the deepening of the sacred. Only by noticing what is within are we able to connect with what is beyond ourselves. When we pray, whatever method we use, we notice our needs, our desires, and our relationships. Prayer is the practice of attending to that which is true. Choose a simple action that will help you refocus on what is actually before you.Īt the end of the day, ask yourself, “When I was present today, what happened?” Prayer Prompt Or perhaps you would rather choose a word to repeat or mental image to use when the feelings you’ve named surface. You can do this by writing, “yes” on a piece of paper to remind you visually of Mary’s response. Maybe it is resentment that another needs you or guilt that you do not want to be needed.Īs you go about your day, notice these feelings and then practice your way back to what is actually at hand. Maybe it is fear that you can’t do something or anger that you feel you must. Today, think about some common feelings that distract you in your encounters. I think of her “yes,” and I long for the kind of presence she might have had in the encounter.
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While I do imagine that she had many feelings in that moment, they did not usurp her attention or her ability to respond. Somehow, she was present to the experience and the request. We are told that Mary did not run or hide when the angel came to her. Need help imagining the scene? Follow this link to see a variety of images of the Annunciation. Imagine the scene of Mary’s “yes.” What details do you see and how do these affect your understanding of her response? We know her answer was “yes,” but what was beneath it? What thoughts do you think she had? What knee-jerk feelings were formed and how did they become part of her response? What do you imagine the conversation in her mind was as she formed her response? Like Mary, can we accept the deepening of the lives that we have already been given? Can we say “yes” and let life be sacred? Advent Reflection When we say “yes,” God is most often inviting us to what is already within our capacity-inviting us to see our ordinary roles as sacred. When Mary said “yes,” she welcomed God into the content of her already given life. The difference is that her attention turned toward the child who was Jesus. Her life was deepened but the shape of it remained mostly the same: Like any mother, she was still needed by the infant in the middle of the night, chased the toddler with the hopes of a nap soon to come, and turned her life towards her child’s. An ordinary life was made sacred by way of an invitation that she affirmed. Because of her “yes” though, she became not only a mother, but the mother of Jesus. It is believable, even without God’s request, that she and Joseph would have become parents. Mary’s “yes” is most profound to me in the way that it changed her life.